Simpson Thacher & Bartlett, Kim & Chang and Yulchon have advised on an IMM consortium’s KRW2.7 trillion (USD2.04 billion) full acquisition of South Korean waste treatment firm Ecorbit, Asia Business Law Journal has learned.
TY Holdings, South Korean conglomerate Taeyoung Group’s holding company, and global private equity firm KKR each own a 50% stake in Ecorbit established in 2021 as a joint venture, and have both agreed to sell their entire shares to the consortium comprising IMM Private Equity and IMM Investment. Local media Maeil Business Newspaper that TY Holdings, acting as the main agent for Ecorbit’s sale, signed a contract with the IMM consortium for the divestment on 26 August.
Yulchon told Asia Business Law Journal that partners Jae Hyun Park, Chee Kwan Kim and Ho Sung Song are leading the firm’s team advising the IMM consortium on the total buyout. Kim & Chang has also confirmed that the firm is advising the seller, but it did not specify which seller party – KKR or TY Holdings – or both it is representing.
Simpson Thacher & Bartlett is also involved as one of the legal advisers in the transaction, according to a source with knowledge of the deal. The US firm did not respond to our request for comment by the time of publication.
Ecorbit and its subsidiaries are involved in environmental waste, managing everything from sewage to landfills and medical waste in South Korea as well as researching, developing and producing green energy. The company is the country’s top environment specialist.
